Why don't I receive immediate chemotherapy treatment like other cancers?

WM patients are now usually diagnosed earlier and WM is usually slow moving so there may be no urgency to treat. Unlike solid cancers there is often no immediate threat to health. Watch and Wait may be appropriate in many cases. Some patients have plasmapheresis to reduce symptoms for an extended period. At all stages WM usually gives you and your family a chance to think seriously about your long term options. You also have to be careful about the type of chemotherapy if a stem cell treatment is likely in the future as some therapies permanently reduce your stem cell counts.